All children in school had sessions about staying safe on the Internet during the week beginning April 27th. There was a workshop for parents on Thursday April 30th.
Parent of children aged 4-7
Our younger children have watched the Hector's World Cartoons and discussed with their teachers the important safety messages that they contain. Feel free to watch them again with your child as a way to talk to them about being safe.
A key message for our children has being encouraging them to tell a grown up if they come across something they shouldn't/ something that makes them uncomfortable. You may wish to download Hector's Safety Buttonwhich encourages them to stay safe, to cover up their screen and tell a grown up.
We taught children the SMART approach to using the Internet (SAFETY- MEETING- ACCEPTING- RELIABLE- TELL). .They saw an excellent video from CBeebiesto reinforce this message. Again watch it with your children if you wish.
Parents of children aged 8-11
Each child in KS2 received a storybook called "Who wnts 2 no". Reading this with your child should promote a discussion about how to stay safe on the web. Again the SMART approach (see above) was heavily reinforced in lessons. Children came home with a selection of leaflets, which can be downloaded using the links at the bottom of this page. Children have worked extensively on the "Cyber Cafe" website which is an excellent introduction to the topic of E-Safety. Get your child to talk through the cyber cafe with you.
Year 6 came up with a for parents and children to discuss. Talk to your child about it. Download and change it if you wish. Then print it out and display it close to your child's computer.
Year 6 and I have worked together to produce a short review of some of the most popular sites for children in the school. The list is in no way exhaustive, and like the very nature of the Internet, it changes all the time. Hopefully parents may find it useful as starting point with their children however.
Get involved in your child's internet use. Discuss the opportunities and risks with children using the Hector's World or Cyber Cafe and "Who wnts 2 no" resources mentioned above.
Agree rules with your child for using the internet, perhaps using Year 6's agreement above
Create a family E-Mail address that your child can use to register on sites. This gives you an idea of the sites that they visit.
Bookmark your family's favourite sites to encourage your child to use the internet productively.
Encourage your child to cover the screen and come and tell a grown up as soon as they see something they shouldn't online. Be pleased that they have told you... rather than over reacting. Consider dowloading the Hector Safety button from above.
Make use of filtering software. I personally use the free Bluecoat K9 Filtering software for my daughter's computer. It has worked well so far.
Make sure that you child knows the SMART rules. See the leaflets below.
If your child uses a social networking site (Bebo, Facebook, Myspace etc...) regularly sit down with them to check their "buddy" list and their profile picture.
If your child uses BBC IPlayer, or the similar sites for other TV Channels, then go to each one and set a password or PIN, otherwise your child has 24 hour access to programs normally shown after the 9pm watershed!
Internet Safety Week 2009
All children in school had sessions about staying safe on the Internet during the week beginning April 27th. There was a workshop for parents on Thursday April 30th.Parent of children aged 4-7
Our younger children have watched the Hector's World Cartoons and discussed with their teachers the important safety messages that they contain. Feel free to watch them again with your child as a way to talk to them about being safe.
A key message for our children has being encouraging them to tell a grown up if they come across something they shouldn't/ something that makes them uncomfortable. You may wish to download Hector's Safety Buttonwhich encourages them to stay safe, to cover up their screen and tell a grown up.
We taught children the SMART approach to using the Internet (SAFETY- MEETING- ACCEPTING- RELIABLE- TELL). .They saw an excellent video from CBeebiesto reinforce this message. Again watch it with your children if you wish.
Parents of children aged 8-11
Each child in KS2 received a storybook called "Who wnts 2 no". Reading this with your child should promote a discussion about how to stay safe on the web. Again the SMART approach (see above) was heavily reinforced in lessons. Children came home with a selection of leaflets, which can be downloaded using the links at the bottom of this page. Children have worked extensively on the "Cyber Cafe" website which is an excellent introduction to the topic of E-Safety. Get your child to talk through the cyber cafe with you.
Year 6 came up with a for parents and children to discuss. Talk to your child about it. Download and change it if you wish. Then print it out and display it close to your child's computer.
What Sort of Sites Might My Child Want to Use?
Year 6 and I have worked together to produce a short review of some of the most popular sites for children in the school. The list is in no way exhaustive, and like the very nature of the Internet, it changes all the time. Hopefully parents may find it useful as starting point with their children however.
What Should I Do Now?
Parents guides can be downloaded below:
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